I’ve always been both fascinated and slightly squeamish about nocturnal animals in general. But not so much anymore! The Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo’s Kingdoms of the Night will introduce you to numerous unusual and sometimes even endearing creatures.

It’s hard to believe that around 13 or 14 years ago a co-worker had to explain to me what an AirBnb was. I had never heard of the concept and found it a bit odd. The thought of staying in someone else’s home seemed odd to me. Fast forward to 2024 and I have now stayed in 35 of them.

America’s national parks are really the pride of our country! They are incredibly beautiful and one of the best way to explore the great outdoors and to learn about history, science, and wildlife.

If you are planning to visit a U.S. National Park this year, you are not alone.

Did you know that the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Has a wonderful collection of Dale Chihuly glasswork? I did not know this until I started planning my eclipse road trip. When I saw that the art museum was having a special exhibit on Dale Chihuly this year I knew where I wanted to start my trip.

I am writing this post from one of my favorite independent, cozy bookstores. I am thinking about all I did during my recent, two-week road trip. It was truly amazing and I’ll start sharing it with you today by giving you an overview.

If you’ve never been in a desert, you will feel like you have when you visit the Omaha zoo’s Desert Dome. One of the things that I like best about the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha is the immersive nature of all the exhibits. This includes one of my favorite exhibits - the Desert Dome.

I hope to be home by early next week and I promise I will crank out the posts then, if not a few before. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a few photos from my eclipse road trip!

Sing it with me!!! Anyway, I have spent most of my day on the road and just got to my destination for tonight. I will not be posting tonight…my apologies. I need to do some “mom” stuff while I can still keep my eyes open.

One of the things I like most about travel is the surprises. This is a story of one of those chance encounters that became a surprise.

Since this is National Library Week, I thought a post about how I utilize my library when I travel and how you can use a destination library when you travel would be a fitting topic for this week.

It’s no secret that those folks who live in the Omaha, Nebraska area and within a day’s drive love the Henry Doorly Zoo. I am also a huge fan. In fact, folks love this zoo so much they voted it as the #1 zoo in all three categories - Best Zoo, Best Zoo Attraction, and Best Safari Park in the most recent USA Today vote.

On a recent visit to Lincoln, Nebraska I had a bit of extra time and I wanted to see something I hadn’t been to before. Since most of the museums were closing soon, I decided to go to the National Museum of Roller Skating, since it was open an hour later and I enjoyed roller skating as a kid - at least most of the time.

There are few works of religious art that many adults know by name. One of those, however, is The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. This sounds like a “duh” moment, but I had no idea that the original masterpiece resides in a cathedral in Milan. I was certainly surprised and delighted to see it among the list of recommended activities in Milan.

There are many “must see” places in Washington, DC. I could name several - The White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Smithsonian museums, the Washington Monument, the National Mall (green space), the Washington National Cathedral, etc… While seeing the government buildings and monuments are a fabulous experience during the day, it is also a special experience to view them lit up at night.

A week ago I met a friend (also named Deanna - which is fun to me because it is a rarity) in Lincoln, Nebraska and she introduced me to an iconic eating establishment she has been going to for years.

It is, unfortunately, well-known by those that know me that I am sort of an ice cream junkie. I have a weakness for ice cream in all its various forms and flavors. As I’ve gotten older, I have tried to cut down on my ice cream intake, but when in Milan (or Italy in general), you need to sample the gelato.

Today I feature my first guest blogger, my son! I told him he could write about any topic he wanted and he picked this, as The Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota is one of his favorite places to visit.

When I was in college I went to DC to visit a friend who was working as an intern. She was working during the day so I had five days to visit many of the museums. I remember visiting the National Gallery of Art and being both amazed and overwhelmed. But, that was the museum that prompted my curiosity about art and artists.

DC has some fantastic restaurants! When I travel. part of the fun is trying new restaurants or local foods. I enjoy trying new foods or the same old, same old prepared differently.

I have always enjoyed a good story. When I travel, I like to listen to podcasts and audiobooks. They seem to help driving long distances fly by. I have several travel podcasts I enjoy, but I found a new (to me) podcast this week that may top them all.